Wisconsin: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Sep 2026·Laws as cited·All 2 records checked Sep 2026
Public recordWI LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Wisconsin chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified Sep 2026.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Wisconsin?
#stove-installREGISTRATION- Credential
- HVAC Contractor Registration (business-level, NO exam) — no person/entity may 'engage or offer to engage in installing or servicing heating, ventilating or air conditioning equipment' without DSPS registration (SPS 305.70); solid fuel sits inside 'heating equipment' by the code's own architecture (UDC ch. SPS 323 contains SPS 323.045 'Solid-fuel-burning appliances') though no standalone statutory definition found — structural inference; voluntary HVAC Qualifier certification (exam) buys exemption from local certification (Wis. Stat. § 101.178(3)(c)); anyone pulling a building permit for a 1–2 family dwelling needs Dwelling Contractor cert + DCQ (§ 101.654, SPS 305.31 — no new-construction limit; financial responsibility = bond not less than $5,000 or GL at least $250,000/occurrence; DCQ = 12-hr course, NO exam — CORRECTS July 'DCQ exam'); UDC listing rule SPS 323.045(1): 'All solid-fuel-burning appliances shall be tested and listed by an accepted testing agency' (July read; not re-fetched); UDC SCOPE: dwellings built since 6/1/1980, additions/alterations to them; municipalities may extend to existing dwellings (SPS 320.02); homeowner exemption; which stove jobs need a permit is a local question; UDC update (SPS 320–325) in drafting, nothing adopted; NFI/CSIA voluntary
- Issuing body
- WI Dept. of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS)
- Statute
- Wis. Stat. §§ 101.178, 101.654; SPS 305.70, 305.71, 305.31, 305.315; SPS 320.02, 323.045
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- n for the registration (HVAC Qualifier exam voluntary; DCQ = 12-hr course, no exam)
- Local overlay
- y — Milwaukee/Madison own inspections + existing-building ordinances (detail UNVERIFIED)
- Confidence
- high (registration + DC rule text); medium-high (solid-fuel-in-HVAC inclusion is structural, not definitional) · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Wisconsin?
#gas-fireplace-serviceREGISTRATION- Credential
- HVAC Contractor Registration (business, NO exam) — 'No person, entity or business may engage or offer to engage in installing or servicing heating, ventilating or air conditioning equipment unless registered' (SPS 305.70, per DSPS); gas fireplaces/inserts/log sets sit inside heating equipment by structural inference; CORRECTION: the individual HVAC Qualifier certification (exam) is OPTIONAL — 'an individual may obtain' it, and a business using a certified qualifier may not be required to obtain a local certification (Wis. Stat. § 101.178(3)(c)) — the July row treated it as required; permit work on 1–2 family dwellings also needs Dwelling Contractor cert + Dwelling Contractor Qualifier (§ 101.654, SPS 305.31; financial responsibility = bond not less than $5,000 or GL at least $250,000/occurrence, bond < $25,000 = restricted cert; DCQ = 12-hr course, no exam); homeowner exemptions for own-occupied dwellings; LP: no separate installer license; LP-gas installations under the WI LP Gas Code (SPS 340, NFPA 58 base); the LP conformance-statement statute remains UNVERIFIED; SPS 305.71(7) permit-before-install claim not re-verified
- Issuing body
- WI Dept. of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS)
- Statute
- Wis. Admin. Code SPS 305.70, 305.71, 305.31, 305.315; Wis. Stat. §§ 101.178, 101.654; SPS 340
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- n for the required registration; HVAC Qualifier exam optional; DCQ = 12-hr course (no exam)
- Local overlay
- y — local certification can be required unless the business uses a state-certified HVAC Qualifier (§ 101.178(3)(c))
- Confidence
- high (registration/qualifier structure); medium (gas-hearth-as-HVAC inclusion; LP statement) · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
What insurance does Wisconsin require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- certification (Dwelling Contractor cert needed to pull 1-2 family permits; HVAC contractor registration for gas/heating work)
- Liability minimum
- EITHER/OR structure, unique in batch: Dwelling Contractor Certification requires a $25,000 surety bond OR $250,000-per-occurrence GL policy (Wis. Stat. § 101.654; SPS 305.315) — insurance and bond are ALTERNATIVES, not cumulative; policy/bond may not be canceled except on 30 days' written notice SERVED ON THE DEPARTMENT (state-filed); TRAP: the cert is only required to PULL UDC PERMITS on 1-2 family dwellings — chimney sweeping/repair that needs no permit escapes the insurance net entirely; HVAC contractor registration: no insurance requirement found (UNVERIFIED)
- Bond
- $25,000 surety bond as the alternative to the $250k GL (same cite); 'Dwelling Contractor Restricted' cert available for smaller bonds; no other state contractor bond
- Guaranty fund
- none — no guaranty/recovery fund
- Workers' comp threshold
- 3+ employees at one time OR 1+ employee paid $500+ gross wages in any calendar quarter (coverage due by 10th day of next quarter) — WI DWD; sole props/partners/LLC members excluded, may elect; farmers: 6+ employees on 20 days/yr
- How to verify
- insurance/bond: STATE-FILED for dwelling-contractor certificants (30-day department cancellation notice); DSPS credential lookup (AUTOMATED); WC: every policy must be filed with the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau — WCRB public coverage lookup
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Wisconsin?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.